Surreal Indefinability
by Pitch Hart
Summary: "Let's pretend that I actually believe what you've said is true. If you got your wish, why the hell would I be here too?" she asked. "Because," the teen replied. Maria just stared at the idiotically unphased girl. This was going to suck so hard... SI


**AN:** Well, I sort of promised myself I wouldn't do a self insert, but this one ran away with me. I'm not sure if anyone's done quite what I've done here, but I'm hoping to make it new and interesting in some ways. This will be following the manga closely, but, obviously, things are going to change. I hope you all enjoy this, as it's my first fic ever. Let me know if any of the dreaded OOC-ness or Sue-ish events start to occur. This is sort of a prologue to test the waters. I'm wondering if anyone wants to read this or if anyone wants me to continue. Can anyone guess where these two are heading?

**IMPORTANT:** [Text in these brackets is understood to be Japanese. The OCs can't understand anything said in these brackets. You, the reader, are the only one who can understand what Ed and the rest of the cast of FMA are saying. I figured it would make this more realistic, or as realistic as an SI can get. Though no Japanese is spoken in this chapter, I thought I should mention it.]

Enjoy! (Hopefully!)

* * *

Dry, broiling, cracked...

These words would all describe the nature of a certain pair of girls walking across the desert sands. Each girl shifted their weight in an attempt to regain some form of comfort as they trekked onwards through the barren terrain. They would have each given their arms for a tall glass of ice cold water perspiring with droplets of refreshing moisture.

The smaller figure sighed in a gesture of defeat to the indifferent sky. She couldn't understand what had happened. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her own comfortable bed, and the next thing she knew, she was stranded next to some girl she didn't even know. Now they were both hiking through shifting sands, occasionally losing their footing in pockets of loose earth, and to top it all, the sun was beating mercilessly against their backs.

In short, Maria was royally pissed off. The girl beside her, however, was humming to herself in a surprisingly uplifting tune. Despite her intentions, Maria was dangerously close to slamming her fist into the girl's pretty little jaw. Her violent thoughts made her realize that she didn't even know the girl's name. She thought that she probably should exchange names. After all, she didn't know how long this forsaken land stretched, and she might be saddled with this person for a while.

"So... what's your name?" Maria asked, only slightly interested.

The taller girl turned to her with a bright smile adorning her features. It was nothing short of amazing that she could smile given the conditions the two were currently in. Well, it was either amazing or stupid, whichever fit better.

"The names Emma, but you can call me Ema! I was sorta wondering why you were being so quiet," she continued, "I thought I'd just wait for you to start talking. Your name?"

"Maria, but you can call me whatever," the smaller girl answered, ignoring the fact that both Emma's name and nickname sounded exactly alike.

"Alright, Mia!" Emma replied, and it made Maria sincerely wish that she could retract her offer. She didn't know exactly what it was, but something about Emma definitely knifed her nerves to tattered rags. She'd only known her for all of five minutes.

"How old are you, exactly?" Maria bluntly asked. She usually wouldn't ask someone that question, but this girl looked around twenty, and she acted around three. Maria really didn't know whether to call her "girl" or "woman."

The taller girl stopped her incessant humming along with her marching steps as she pondered the question. It seemed as if she was taken slightly off guard, and Maria reveled in that juicy bit of silence she had gotten. She would be sure to ask things like that more often, but she wouldn't do it too much, lest the effervescent (woman? girl?) get used to it.

"I'm sixteen! What about you?" she replied, an airy quality somehow finding its way into her voice.

She could've palmed her forehead repetitively at Emma's age. Maria was three years older, but she was about three inches shorter, and she sported a smaller bust. She despised her gene pool with a fiery passion.

"...nineteen," Maria replied with reluctance, flinching when she realized that her voice sounded as if it had been blanketed in sand.

Emma stopped in mid-march once again, this time without a smile on her face. "Oh wow! You're just like Ed!"

Maria raised her eyebrow at the remark. She almost wanted to ask who this Ed character was, but her throat felt as if it had been rubbed down with sandpaper for the last six hours, and she didn't want to risk her voice cracking. It might've made Emma laugh in some disgustingly joyous manner.

Despite Maria's silence at the remark, Emma, more or less, continued talking to herself. She went on to say that if Maria was just a little shorter, and if her hair was blond, then she would be perfect for cosplaying as Edward Elric. Out of nowhere, Emma began to prattle on about the show that "Ed" came from, but the smaller teen didn't pay her any heed. It was great practice for what Maria liked to call her "White Noise Routine."

Long ago, she had decided that, more often than not, words were overused. So, she invented a way to tune out other voices besides the voice in her head. She began to talk to herself, attempting to figure out how they wound up here, and she also tried to get their bearings.

All that she could see in any direction was sand and the little ripples in the air that indicated heat. It didn't look like there would be any civilization for miles on end. The only thing she spotted was a cactus or two spread out sparsely on the land, but she wouldn't hold up much hope for water. She didn't even know if there was any truth to that water in the cactus thing, and she didn't have anything to cut them open with anyway.

She listed off things that they would inevitably need, such as food, water, and shelter. She then tested her mental compass to find that it was complete crap, and so she considered places to form a makeshift camp.

...and she also thought about a way to make a gag for a certain "Ema".

Maria was rudely yanked from her musings by a certain person grabbing a hold of her arm and shaking it roughly. The pressure on her arm not only forced her to pay attention to Emma, but it also sparked a sea of flames to roil within her stomach. Her anger grew dangerously close to spewing, and it was directed straight at the unwitting girl that held a grin on her face.

"Do **not** touch me," Maria warned, her tone rife with brutality.

Emma, completely unphased by the elder girl's threats, pointed to what she assumed was the East. As the smaller girl's gaze followed Emma's outstretched finger, she realized why Emma had tried to get her attention.

In the distance was a city. It didn't seem very advanced, but it looked like paradise to the eye of a wandering traveler. Emma grinned at Maria, who scoffed.

"I stand by what I said," she deadpanned.

"Right, let's go!" Emma cheerfully stated whilst wrapping her arm around Maria's shoulder. "Hm, this place looks so familiar," she mumbled to herself.

Maria didn't know what was in the town, nor did she know what she would find there, but she knew three things.

1. She was desperate for information.

2. She wanted to go home and drink as much as she could from the tap.

3. She would definitely inquire within the city as to how loose the law was when it came to homicide.


End file.
